Paul who sang Lonely Boy / TUE 7-2-13 / James who wrote A Death in the Family / Doug who filled in for Rex on a Tuesday

Constructor: Daniel Raymon

Relative difficulty: Tuesdayish


THEME: NATIONAL ANAGRAMS— Countries are paired with their anagrams to form wacky phrases.

Word of the Day: RIVEN (2D: Torn apart) —

Riven is a puzzle adventuregame and the sequel to Myst. Developed by Cyan Worlds, it was initially published by Red Orb Entertainment, a division of Brøderbund. Riven was distributed on five compact discs and released on October 29, 1997, in North America; it was later released on a single DVD-ROM, with improved audio and a fourteen-minute "making-of" video.

The story of Riven is set immediately after the events of Myst. Having been rescued from the efforts of his sons, the main non-player protagonist Atrus enlists the help of the player character to free his wife from his power-hungry father Gehn. Unlike Myst, which took place on several worlds known as Ages, linked together by special books, Riven takes place almost entirely on the Age of Riven, a world slowly falling apart due to Gehn's destructive rule. Did anyone read all that? Quoting Wikipedia is a great way to fill space.

Howdy, folks. Doug here. By now, you're probably all going through Rex withdrawal. Fear not. There are only a couple more days of substitutes.

It's hard to concentrate on writing the blog because there are so many cool high-tech toys to play with here at Rex Parker HQ. I've been fiddling with his PRISM (People Rex Is Secretly Monitoring) program all day. It's so cool. He can spy on anyone who's reading or has ever read the blog. Phone calls, emails, internet history, the whole nine yards. And the program can generate all kinds of fun stats. For example, I discovered that only 0.13% of readers actually click on the videos. And there's one guy in Regina, Saskatchewan, who's watched every video ever posted on the blog. So, Gary, please enjoy today's video! The rest of you can scroll down a little.


Today's theme, countries paired with their anagrams, is one I've seen done a couple times before. Anagrams are fertile ground for puzzle themes, and this one slots right into a Tuesday difficulty level. I like ISRAEL SERIAL the best. ANGOLA ANALOG is a little dry. The first theme answer made me think of YEMENI ENEMY which could be used in a rhyming theme and is a neat little tongue twister.

Theme answers:

• 18A: Adversary on the Arabian peninsula? (YEMEN ENEMY)
• 24A: Something comparable in southern Africa? (ANGOLA ANALOG)
• 38A/40A: Royal emblems in North Africa? (ALGERIA REGALIA)
• 47A: TV show in the Mideast? (ISRAEL SERIAL)
• 57A: Part of an air force in south-central Asia? (NEPAL PLANE)    

Bullets:

• 16A: W.W. II's ___ the Riveter (ROSIE) — You're all familiar with the iconic Rosie the Riveter poster. "We can do it!" How about the one where she's getting ready to clean the bathroom? Swiffer thought that would be a great idea for an ad campaign. (Note: This was shamelessly stolen from cracked.com, the site where I get most of my news.)
• 62A: WWE locale (ARENA)— Gary from Regina is a big wrestling fan. He's got a sweet Bret "The Hitman" Hart screen saver on his laptop.
• 45A: Cajoling words before asking for something (BE A DEAR)— That's a nice entry & clue. Looks weird in the grid though. BEAD EAR?
• 14A: Sorvino of "Mighty Aphrodite" (MIRA)— Shout-out to my favorite pair of Xena fans in Maryland! We can do shout-outs, right? Sure, why not. By the time Rex reads this post, he'll be plastered on artisanal gin and tonics or whatever it is they drink in the Pacific Northwest.
  
• 46D: Oslo Accords figure (ARAFAT)— Interesting that this entry crosses the ISRAEL theme answer. And so does the PILGRIMAGE to Mecca. Crosswords really can bring disparate groups together. These entries live together in perfect harmony inside today's crossword grid, just like ebony and ivory on my piano keyboard.

OK, that last bullet was weird, so I should probably quit while I'm ahead. Neville tomorrow!

Signed, Doug Peterson, Factotum of CrossWorld